The Ultimate Guide to Little Ivies and Whether They Should Be On Your College List
Though most people are familiar with the Ivy League schools, fewer are aware of the Little Ivy group—a collection of prestigious Liberal Arts Colleges (LACs) in the northeastern United States. While LACs often earn less attention than their larger University counterparts, it’s a mistake to rule these schools out from your list. Offering smaller class sizes, intellectual engagement across disciplines, and strong preparation for post-graduate plans, LACs are a great option for students seeking out a smaller campus environment with equal academic rigor.
In this blog, we’ll focus specifically on the Little Ivies, diving into the structure of this group, what the name means, and essential things to know before you apply.
Which schools are the “Little Ivies”?
There are 18 schools in the Little Ivies group:
Amherst College
Bates College
Bowdoin College
Bucknell University
Colby College
Colgate University
Connecticut College
Hamilton College
Haverford College
Lafayette College
Middlebury College
Swarthmore College
Trinity College
Tufts University
Union College
Vassar College
Wesleyan University
Williams College
Within the 18 schools, there are three consortia.
The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) is an athletic league including Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Connecticut College, Hamilton, Middlebury, Trinity, Tufts, Wesleyan, and Williams.
The three Little Ivies in Maine—Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin comprise a smaller athletic conference, referred to as either the “Maine Big Three” or the CBB Consortium.
The schools of Amherst, Wesleyan, and Williams are referred to as the “Little Three,” drawn from a historic athletic rivalry. The name has persisted due to the schools’ academic strength, creating a Little Ivy equivalent of the “Big Three” Ivy League schools of Harvard, Princeton, and Yale.
What makes the Little Ivies different from the Ivy League?
Despite the name, there is no official link between the Little Ivies and the Ivy League.
The Ivy League is formally an athletic conference, though the conference name is often used outside the realm of athletics as shorthand for the eight member schools: Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and Yale University. The Ivy League term is frequently used to refer to the schools themselves, based on their shared reputation as academically rigorous and prestigious schools.
The Little Ivy term is used analogously to the Ivy League in the latter academic sense; there is no athletic conference comprising all 18 Little Ivies.
Why are the Little Ivies grouped together?
The Little Ivy group was developed by the 18 member schools to recognize their status as top Liberal Arts Colleges, defined as shared prestigious reputations, selective admissions, and strong academics. The descriptor “Little” most likely refers to the much smaller student body of Liberal Arts Colleges compared to research universities.
The shared LAC status of the Little Ivies is worth noting—with enrollments usually ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 students, LACs mostly or only offer undergraduate degrees, emphasizing tight-knit environments, close contact with professors, and a greater focus on academics than pre-professional study.
What to know about applying to Little Ivies
Membership in the Little Ivy group does not mean that there are any shared application policies. (This is generally the case for school groupings, though Ivy League members do release admissions decisions on the same day). So if you’re planning to apply, you’ll need to research deadlines, requirements, and school policies individually.
Due to their strong reputations, many Little Ivy member schools have very low acceptance rates; those of Amherst, Bowdoin, Colby, Swarthmore, and Williams are all below 10%. Nonetheless, some options are more feasible: Bucknell, Connecticut, Lafayette, and Trinity have acceptance rates above 30%. If you’re interested in attending one of these schools, it’s a good idea to apply to several choices at different levels of competitiveness.
An essential tip to keep in mind when applying to LACs—Little Ivies or otherwise—is that applying Early Decision to these schools typically provides a substantially higher chance of success in comparison to larger universities. For example, Colby’s overall acceptance rate of 9% jumps to 42% for Early Decision applicants!
While this is a great advantage to early applicants, it puts Regular Decision applicants in a much trickier position. Remember, the overall acceptance rate averages out the ED and RD pools. Since LACs often fill a large percentage of their class through ED, keep in mind that your RD chances are much lower than the overall acceptance rate.
Overall
If you’re looking for a small school environment with a liberal arts focus, the Little Ivies are a group of schools worth pursuing. As some of the best LACs in the country, you can have an academic experience matching those at top research universities. While the connection between the 18 Little Ivies is unofficial, they’re a great shortlist for students searching for prestigious liberal arts institutions. As you plan your application strategy, make sure to take advantage of Early Decision opportunities to boost your chances, and apply to an assortment of schools with varied acceptance rates to ensure you gain an acceptance at one of these LACs!
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One other option—Lumiere Research Scholar Program
If you are interested in doing university-level research, then you could also consider applying to the Lumiere Research Scholar Program, a selective online high school program for students that I founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4,000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here.
Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students.
Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a Ph.D. student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.